A State Opening of Parliament took place on 11 May 2021.

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

opened the second session of the 58th Parliament with the traditional Queen's Speech. The event was significant as it involved many restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.

Background

The parliament was elected at the 2019 general election. The Opening of Parliament was the Queen's first major royal duty since the death of her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, which occurred one month before. This would be the last state opening the Queen would personally attend prior to her death in September 2022, as the then-

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...

and

Duke of Cambridge Duke of Cambridge, one of several current royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom , is a hereditary title of specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. The title (named after the city of Cambridge in England) is heritable by male de ...

, acting as Counsellors of State, stood in for the ailing Monarch for the last State Opening of Parliament of her reign in May 2022.

COVID-19 restrictions

State Opening of Parliament 2015 (18168908625)

The ceremony was different from usual protocol, being the first since the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

began. Only 74 people were allowed in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

when the speech was read, with a further 34

MPs MPS, M.P.S., MPs, or mps may refer to: Science and technology * Mucopolysaccharidosis, genetic lysosomal storage disorder * Mononuclear phagocyte system, cells in mammalian biology * Myofascial pain syndrome * Metallopanstimulin * Potassium perox ...

and peers sitting in the Royal Gallery. The Queen travelled from Buckingham Palace in a

Range Rover Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to ...

instead of the traditional carriage.

Substance

Speculation

There were expected to be between 25 and 30 bills mentioned in the speech, including bills related to rent reform and employment. BBC News reported that the speech would include measures on adult social care, Northern Ireland veterans, asylum reform, the English planning system, fixed-term parliaments, and building safety regulations.

Announced bills

The following new bills were announced in the speech: Further legislation will also introduce the government's "New Plan for Immigration" and deal with legacy issues relating to Northern Ireland. The Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill would repeal the

Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (c. 14) (FTPA) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that for the first time set in legislation a default fixed election date for a general election to the Westminster parliament. Since the repea ...

, restoring the power of the monarch to dissolve Parliament and call a new election at the request of the prime minister, while the Electoral Integrity Bill would introduce mandatory photo identification for voters at general elections, as well as granting British nationals who have lived overseas for over 15 years the right to vote. The Judicial Review Bill would allow courts to issue suspended quashing orders, giving the government time to correct errors before a quashing order comes into effect, and abolish the right to judicial review of Upper Tribunal decisions at the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (Englan ...

. The Online Safety Bill would create a new statutory

duty of care In tort law, a duty of care is a legal obligation that is imposed on an individual, requiring adherence to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others. It is the first element that must be establ ...

of online platforms towards their users, obliging them to remove both illegal and "legal but harmful" content, and empower

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

to block access to particular websites. In addition, the bill would prohibit social media networks from removing certain forms of user-submitted political content or discriminating against particular political viewpoints. The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill would impose requirements for universities and students' unions to protect freedom of speech, allowing speakers to seek compensation for

no-platforming Deplatforming, also known as no-platforming, has been defined as an "attempt to boycott a group or individual through removing the platforms (such as speaking venues or websites) used to share information or ideas," or "the action or practice of ...

, empowering the

Office for Students The Office for Students (OfS) is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Education, acting as the regulator and competition authority for the higher education sector in England. In February 2021, James Wharton, Baron Wharton of Yarm ...

to levy fines on infringing institutions, and creating a new ombudsman charged with monitoring cases of no-platforming and academic dismissals.

Carried-over bills

In addition, the following bills were carried over from the 2019–21 legislative session: * Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill * Armed Forces Bill * Environment Bill * Finance Bill * Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill * Telecommunications (Security) Bill

Event

The Queen travelled from Buckingham Palace to the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...

. She was joined by her son

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

and his wife Camilla. The MP Marcus Jones was taken in the opposite direction as '

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...

' for the duration. The consort's throne was absent from the House of Lords during the event due to COVID-19 restrictions: though the Queen's consort

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

had died on 9 April 2021, the throne was expected to be returned and occupied by Prince Charles at future State Openings.

Response

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members oft ...

debated the speech in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

afterwards. A debate also took place in the

. Lord Lebedev made his

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention ...

. On 19 May the motion on the address was passed by a vote of 367–264, with the

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by ...

supporting the government.

References

External links

Video of the event
from the BBC
Briefing Notes
from the

Government of the United Kingdom ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal coat of arms of t ...

{{Boris Johnson Parliament of the United Kingdom COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom 2021 in the United Kingdom May 2021 events in the United Kingdom 2021 speeches